Image by Johnnie Lawson
River of breath, flow through me
Find every stone, stick and scar
Cover this body completely
In compassionate awareness
Till every part is bathed in blessing
Each ailment is accepted as an ally
To this moment of truth –
The wound is the way to wellbeing
Every moment can be categorized as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. During unpleasant moments, there is a tendency to blame others for something they say or do. Another possibility is to blame yourself for reacting the way you do.
Mindfulness offers another choice. Once the milk has already spilled, the other shoe has already dropped, the neatly stacked papers have already scattered, there is an opportunity to decide if you will let your thoughts direct the scene, or if you will turn inward to find a sense of ease and wellbeing.
Every external drama has a physical manifestation in the body. You may not always know where anger, fear, sadness, guilt, or other intense emotions hide inside you, but you can get to know your body sensations by practicing a body scan like this:
Compassionate Body Scan (Dr. Kristen Neff)
The ease cannot be felt in an instant. It comes with patience and time, with a genuine care and curiosity for what you are experiencing. It happens when you let the river of breath flow through you, finding every stone, stick and scar (unpleasant body sensation). When you stop fighting the feelings manifested as physical sensations, they can flow with the river of breath. Each ailment is accepted as an ally to this moment of truth – the wound is the way to wellbeing.
May the river of breath flow through you, till every part is bathed in blessing, till each wound in cleansed in kind understanding.
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